Sienna Betts, the No. 2 recruit in class of 2025, expected to make collegiate debut for UCLA on Tuesday night

UCLA freshman Sienna Betts is expected to make her collegiate debut when the Bruins take on Cal Poly on Tuesday night. Fans have been eagerly waiting for this moment, but it's hard to imagine anyone will be prouder than her older sister Lauren Betts.

"Yeah, I'm super excited for Sienna. This has been a really up-and-down process for her," Betts said during the USA Basketball training camp. "Obviously, no one wants to be injured, especially going into your first year in college. So she's been amazing. She's been putting in a lot of hard work.

"I'm so excited for her to get the opportunity to step on the floor for the first time because she's really had an amazing attitude throughout all of this. We've all been there for her, and the staff has been amazing. So as her older sister I just can't wait to watch her experience that for the first time, and I'm just super proud of her. And yeah, just really looking forward to it."

Sienna has yet to play a game as a Bruin due to a left leg injury that happened during a scrimmage against UC Riverside on Oct. 19. She will likely ease into things and be on a minutes restriction during her debut. 

The delay was not easy to deal with but things are finally looking up. On Tuesday, Sienna shared a post on Instagram with the caption "better days :)" Lauren replied with a LeBron James meme saying, "It's about damn time."

Although her sister is the star UCLA player who led the team to a Final Four appearance, Sienna won't be living in her shadow. The 6-foot-4 forward was the No. 2 player in the 247Sports class of 2025 rankings. She averaged 23 points and 16.5 rebounds per game during her senior year at Grandview High School in Colorado and 247Sports Director of women's basketball scouting Brandon Clay described her as "unquestionably the top frontcourt option in the rising senior class."

We have yet to see her as a college freshman but head coach Cori Close already knows Sienna will be competing for playing time.

"I think Sienna is extremely smart. She has an incredibly high IQ. She has very good instincts and she's incredibly competitive," Close said. "I would expect that she'll be really mad at me when I take her off the court because she'll just want more and more and more. My biggest hope for her is that she'll give herself some grace. She has such high expectations for herself, which is part of what makes her so good."

The Bruins are currently ranked No. 4 in the nation with their only loss coming at the hands of No. 2 Texas in November. Having Sienna back will add depth to an already dangerous team. She has been itching to be a part of the action, but her older sister has been there to remind her to take her time with the recovery process. 

"She's the impatient one," Lauren said. "I'm just really super proud of her, and it's going to be a really special moment to have her back on the floor. It's a really up and down process. Like I said, she's just very impatient, so I'm just excited for her get to be on the court. We're all just so thankful to have her on the team. She's gonna be a great addition."